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Intelligent Leadership Model

 

Transcript

Welcome to the Managers Toolkit: how to adapt your management style using our Intelligent Leadership Model.

Hello and welcome to our video on tailoring your management style using our Intelligent Leadership Model.

At the Management Centre, we understand that deciding on an approach when managing people can be daunting.  If you’re a manager you’ll know how incredibly confusing  it can feel when one method seems to work with some people but not others.

This is because one size really does not fit all. Adjusting your management style to suit any situation and what your team member needs is a great way to help you get the best from the people you manage. In this video we’ll show you how to do that using the Management Centre’s Intelligent Leadership Model.

Intelligent Leadership Model Overview: this model depicts four different management styles over two variable behaviour clusters. Let’s take a moment to describe how this looks. We can imagine the four styles as four equal quarters of a circular dial, a bit like a pie cut into four slices.

Each slice represents one of the four management styles, which are: Directive, Nurturing, Encouraging and Empowering. Each of these quarter slices is represented by an arrow leading anti-clockwise to the next. So if we start with the bottom right quadrant, the Directive style, this leads anti-clockwise to the Nurturing style, followed by the Encouraging style then on to the Empowering style and finally back to the Directive style. We’ll go through each style in a moment.

We then have two axes to consider. Imagine the circular dial sits within a square, and the two parallel sides of the square represent two behaviour clusters – Supportive and Directive. Think of these as your axes, where the vertical axis Y represents Supportive behaviour, and the horizontal axis X represents Directive behaviour.

The amount of each behaviour needed varies along each axis. The vertical axis representing Supportive behaviour runs from low to high, where lowest is at the bottom and highest is at the top. The horizontal axis representing Directive behaviour runs left to right where left is the lowest and right is the highest.

So where your management style sits on these axes will tell you how much Support and Direction you’re going to need. In essence, the dial tells you where you’re coming from and where you’re going in terms of each management style needed, while the axes describes the behaviours you’ll need to use at each point.

Let’s consider our two behaviour clusters. In the Supportive cluster, along the Y axis, the manager’s role is to be supportive and encouraging, which requires lots of two-way communications. This not just about being nice.  Our aim here is to enable people to develop their own solutions and involve them in decision making.

The supportive cluster of behaviours recognises every individual’s unique needs. So this means asking questions to understand their perspective. Ultimately, this enables a more inclusive work place by creating a safe environment for people to ask for the support that they need.

The X axis is the Directive cluster of behaviour. In this cluster the manager’s role is to be clear and unambiguous about their expectations. This is not about being bossy or controlling. Our aim here is to ensure team members understand what is required. Therefore this mainly requires one-way communications. As the manager, you decide what needs to happen, the results that are needed and to make the final decision.

The directive cluster of behaviour creates an environment in which your team knows what is expected in helpful and clear ways. This means giving your team the information that they need to complete the task you’re asking them to do. In other words, they understand what they’re being asked to do, how to do it, and why.

Ultimately, this clarity of information helps people to prioritise their tasks, learn and develop. When you give people the information they need, you are setting them up for success.

As a manager, we can choose to use any amount of directive or supportive behaviour – and any combination of the two behaviours.

The Intelligent Leadership Model shares four different combinations you can choose from depending on the person and the situation. Your goal of course is to get the best out of the people you manage. Let’s start with the first choice of combining high directive behaviour with low supportive behaviour, otherwise known as the Directing approach. This is the bottom right slice of our dial.

When using high directive behaviours, you’ll be using mainly one-way communication to share what and how something needs to be done. You need to be clear and unambiguous in your instructions. In this situation as the manager, you are taking full responsibility for deciding what needs to be done, how it needs to be done and by when. The responsibility of supervising and evaluating your colleague’s work and whether or not it meets the standards you set rests with you the manager.

This Directing approach is effective in dangerous situations or an emergency. It could also be used in high-risk situations or situations with legal ramifications, where there is only one way of completing a task.

For example, during the induction of a new member of staff, you will need to tell them where the fire exit is, and where the meeting point is if they should ever need to evacuate the building. You do not need to ask them where they think the meeting point should be. This new member of staff just needs to learn that this is how we do it in a crisis. And that the reason for this is safety which is paramount and our first concern.

A directive style is also helpful when your team member is doing something they haven’t done before. You shouldn’t expect or assume that they’ll know how you want a task completed – even if you’ve worked with them for years on other things. Always ask yourself: does this person have the information they need to know how to complete this task?

The second style sits in the top right corner of the dial. This approach involves using high levels of both directive and supportive behaviour: we call this the nurturing approach. Let’s consider some characteristics of nurturing.

As we move towards a high level of supportive behaviour, the nurturing leader will use more two-way communications and ask open questions while dialling-up the support whilst  keeping hold of the high dial of direction. This involves open questions.

Using open questions helps you in two ways as a manager: firstly  you can check the person’s understanding of the task and secondly, it verifies if the action they want to take is aligned with the results that you are looking for. When the actions are aligned with the intended results, you can (and should) give lots of supportive and praise.

When the actions deviate from the intended results, you will be able to go back to a more directive behaviour through course correction by giving clear advice and guidance. Again, this is all about setting your team up for success. Consequently, as part of the high directive behaviour, you are also evaluating the results your team member produces.

The nurturing approach is helpful in situations where people still needs lots of direction as well as support to build their confidence, or in situations where there are several ways to do something.

For example, you manage Alice who is a few months into their new role and you’d like them to start making a grant application due in a few months – a task you know they have only done a few times before – under your direct supervision.

You might start by asking them an open question such as: “Alice, can you tell me what you will be doing to prepare for the application?”

As Alice describes the process, you give them lots of praise for things that they are doing well. However, if Alice makes a mistake in the process or misunderstands why a step is needed, you will need to correct them and give them the correct information.

Always ask yourself: does this person have the information they need to know how complete the task? If not do they know where to look for it? Perhaps a how-to guide, perhaps asking a particular colleague. Have you checked their understanding and clarified what they intend to do?

The third choice involves a lowering of our dial on directive behaviour whilst keeping our high level of supportive behaviour. We call this the Encouraging approach.

Here are some characteristics of the encouraging approach.

With a high level of supportive behaviour, we continue to communicate in two directions and use open questions but in a different way to the nurturing style.

In this instance, we are using these open questions to help people to find their own solutions and reach their own conclusion rather than focusing on the actions they are taking. With high supportive behaviour, we are encouraging them to come up with solutions, initiatives, making their own decision and also evaluating their work for themselves. In so doing, we provide a safe and supportive work environment for people to learn their own way.

The encouraging approach is helpful in situations where we know the other person is able to carry out the task. However they might have low confidence because they feel they need more practice or because they are being stretched. We can use our support and encouragement skills to help them build their confidence.

For example, you manage Sunil, a fundraiser who is great at managing corporate sponsors. Prior to the campaign Sunil says that they feel unsure and asks you for your advice on what they might need in order to manage those relationships. You know that Sunil has the capability to do that on their own so you might say something along the lines of: “Sunil for the past year, I have noticed that you’ve been great at managing this relationship. What has helped you with that? How might that help with the new campaign? What else could you consider? What would you like from me to help you with that?”

Crucially you are giving praise but not giving answers or solutions. You’re letting Sunil figure it out for themselves. Meanwhile you play the role of a coach to guide them to their own answers. At the end of the campaign, you can ask Sunil how they thought it went, and in so doing continue to increase their confidence.

The fourth choice involves a combination of a low level of directive and supportive behaviour.  We are now at the bottom left of the circle. Bear in mind that these dials are turned down but not turned off. We call this the empowering approach.

Here are some characteristics of an empowering approach. With a low level of directive behaviour, we allow the other person to determine how something will be done but this means we also need to accept their decision.

With a low level of supportive behaviour, we allow  them to evaluate their own work rather than support them through the process of evaluation. The success of the empowering approach also means that we’ll need to give credit where credit is due. The empowering approach is helpful in situations where we trust that the other person will deliver high quality results, as they are both competent and confident in the task.

For example, you manage Charlie an experienced volunteer manager. On a new volunteer recruitment campaign you put Charlie in charge and tell them: “Charlie, I have absolute faith that you are going to smash this one out of the park. Let me know how you get on. We’ll catch up in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime if you need me you know where to find me”

In this scenario, you are not disappearing never to be seen again. Instead the onus is on Charlie to flag if they need help between the agreed check points.

That’s it.

What we’ve just seen are the four styles that you can adopt based on the situation and the person.

Take some time to think about the people that you are working with and which approach would be most appropriate to the situation? What are their needs when it comes to delivering the results required? Why is that? What behaviours do YOU need to get the best out of them?

If you have a question about the Intelligent Leadership Model or any other management tool, then do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. Our direct line phone and email are on the screen and I hope this has been helpful – thanks for watching.

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About Leonard Ho

Leonard specialises in management development, communications skills and personal effectiveness. Leonard has more than 10 years’ experience in training, operations, people, and project management in the public sector in...

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